The Battle of Hsimucheng ( ja, 析木城の戦い, Sekijō-no-tatakai; russian: Бой у Симучена) was a minor land engagement of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. It was fought on 31 July 1904 near Hsimucheng, a hamlet in today's Ximu Town (析木镇) about southeast of the strategic junction town of Haicheng, on the main road connecting Haicheng with the coast between elements of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

and the Imperial Russian Army.

Background

The Japanese

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The re ...

Divisions under the command of General Nozu Michitsura's 4th Army as well as a detachment from the 2nd Army were advancing north towards

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of F ...

. This advance was opposed by the Imperial Russian Second Siberian Army Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Mikhail Zasulich, supported by cavalry units under the command of Lieutenant General Pavel Mishchenko.Kowner, ''Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 151.

Prelude

Following its defeat at the Battle of Tashihchiao, the 2nd Siberian Corps under General Zasulich retreated to the village of Hsimungcheng. General Zasulich had a total of 33 battalions and 80 artillery pieces, but was in an exposed position in mountainous terrain. The two forces collided at 02:00 on 31 July 1904, with the Japanese 10th Division and a reserve brigade making a direct frontal assault on the Russian positions, and the Japanese 5th Division flanking left to threaten the Russian line of retreat.

Description of battle

The Russian forces held out tenaciously through the day and into the night against superior forces. The Japanese 5th Division joined forces with a detachment of the 3rd Division of the 2nd Army sent by General

Oku Yasukata Count was a Japanese field marshal and leading figure in the early Imperial Japanese Army. Biography Early life Born in Kokura (in present-day Kitakyūshū) to a ''samurai'' family of the Kokura Domain in Buzen Province, Oku joined the militar ...

to assist, and the Japanese were thus in a position to encircle the Russian force. At 23:00 on 31 July 1904, General Zasulich exercised his standing order from General Alexei Kuropatkin to withdraw to Haicheng, and the Japanese forces were thus able to link up for the next push north towards Liaoyang.

Aftermath

The Battle of Hsimucheng cost the Russian forces 1,217

casualties A casualty, as a term in military usage, is a person in military service, combatant or non-combatant, who becomes unavailable for duty due to any of several circumstances, including death, injury, illness, capture or desertion. In civilian usag ...

, and the Japanese forces 836.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Hsimucheng Hsimucheng Military history of Manchuria 1904 in Japan Hsimucheng Hsimucheng